The artistic director Solange Farkas and the trio of curators Gabriel Bogossian, Luisa Duarte and Miguel López analyzed together 2,280 submissions from 105 nationalities to select works from Brazil, Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. To these and so many works are added projects by five guest artists

The 21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil | Imagined Communities borrows the title from Benedict Anderson’s classic study to reflect on forms of social and community organization existing beyond, on the fringes or in the breaches of nation states: religious or mystical communities, refugee groups uprooted from their original land, clandestine, fictional and utopian communities or those constituted in the underground worlds of bodily and sexual experiences.

That is the horizon featured in the works by artists from indigenous groups or original peoples that deal with the issues present in the making and representation of those cultures in art and the world, in works that address the queer/LGBT universe, racial issues and border conflicts. The Biennial is divided into three platforms: exhibition, public programs and publications.

New name, new venue
Spanning over 35 years of existence, the hitherto called Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil takes on the name of Biennial, joining the international Biennial calendar and strengthening its position in the global visual arts scene. For Videobrasil director Solange Farkas, rather than a mark of periodicity, “the term Biennial reflects the perception that our investigative practice brings us closer to the role played by international biennials such as those of Sharjah, Cuenca, Havana and Dakar.”

For the regional director of Sesc São Paulo, Danilo Santos de Miranda, “Sesc is charged with reflecting and mediating multiple perspectives through cultural action devoted to casting off shackles inherited from the colonial past and imposed by a peripheral geopolitical condition. The curatorial selection of the 21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil brings together artistic experiences engaged in conceiving the commons and its respective ties from non-hegemonic elements and commitments.”

Participating artists
Adrian Balseca, Ecuador, Ahmad Ghossein, Lebanon, Alberto Guarani, Brazil, Alto Amazonas Audiovisual, Brazil, Ana Carvalho, Ariel Kuaray Ortega, Fernando Ancil, Patrícia Para Yxapy, Brazil, Andrea Tonacci, Italy / Brazil , André Griffo, Brazil , Aykan Safoglu, Turkey / Germany, Brett Graham, New Zealand, chameckilerner, Brazil / United States, Clara Ianni, Brazil, Claudia Martínez Garay, Peru / the Netherlands, Dana Awartani, Saudi Arabia , Ellie Kyungran Heo, South Korea / United Kingdom, Emo de Medeiros, France / Benin, Erin Coates, Australia , Ezra Wube, Ethiopia / United States, Federico Lamas, Argentina, Gabriela Golder, Argentina, George Drivas, Greece, Georges SENGA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hiwa K, Iraq / Germany, Hrair Sarkissian, Syria / United Kingdom , Jim Denomie, United States, Jonathas de Andrade, Brazil, Julia Mensch, Argentina, Köken ErguN, Turkey, Luiz de Abreu, Brazil, Marilá Dardot, Brazil, Marton Robinson Palmer, Costa Rica, Maya Shurbaji, Syria , Megan-Leigh Heilig, South Africa / Belgium, Mohau Modisakeng, South Africa, Mônica Nador, Brazil, Movimento de Luta nos Bairros, Vilas e Favelas, Brazil, Natalia Skobeeva, Russia / United Kingdom, Nelson Makengo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nidhal Chamekh, Tunisia / France , Nilbar Güreş, Turkey / United States, No Martins, Brazil, NoÉ MartÍnez, Mexico , Omar Mismar, Lebanon, Paul Rosero Contreras, Ecuador, Paulo Mendel & Vitor Grunvald, Brazil, Roney Freitas & Isael maxacali, Brazil, Rosana Paulino, Brazil, Sadik Afraji, Iraq / the Netherlands, Tang Kwok Hin, China, Teresa Margolles, Mexico, Thanh Hoang, Vietnam, Thierry Oussou, Benin / the Netherlands, TIECOURA N’DAOU, Mali, Tomaz Klotzel, Brazil, #VoteLGBT, Brazil, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Peru